Friday, June 27, 2014

Thematic Mapper is an online tool that allows visualisation of information that can be matched to administrative boundaries, like postcodes or suburb, or to point locations like cities, towns or individual addresses.

[Thematic map depicting proportions of persons aged 5 to 14 per postcode - one of 7,942 available Census data layers]

Unlike traditional GIS tools, Thematic Mapper allows creating choropleth maps as well as displaying categorised point information on-the fly. In other words, polygons are assigned colours and points are assigned markers and colours dynamically, according to rules defined by the user and are not preconfigured in advance by the system administrator. This capability empowers users to create maps according to their individual requirements and aesthetics.

The key advantage of Thematic Mapper is ease of creation and publication of maps online. Users do not have to be experts in GIS and spatial analytics to make comprehensive, visually attractive and meaningful thematic maps. However, experienced analysts will also find Thematic Mapper very useful since it allows quick visualisation of a large number of analytical scenarios.

Thematic Mapper is provided as Software-as- a-Service. Hence, users do not need expensive infrastructure to deploy the software, nor do they need to employ technical staff to maintain it.

Key Features

Thematic Mapper has several distinguished features that are not offered by other online mapping tools, or even desktop applications. In particular:

1. Ability to preview the histogram of mapped data - which helps in determining data distribution characteristics and hence, in selecting the most appropriate method for categorisation of data (that is, whether data is normally distributed or not, and therefore, whether quantile, equal range or standard deviation methodology is the most appropriate to define data ranges for colouring).

2. Fully customisable colour schemas for polygons as well as markers, including multi- colour blending for the best visual effect (eg. colour ranges can be generated based on 2, 3 or more interim colours, and not only based on the “start” and “end” colour; and each colour can be further adjusted manually, as required).

3. Ability to create complex markers - comprising variety of background shapes, sizes and colours, symbols (glyphs) and images, and any combination of these. Users can define two display modes for markers which will change at a predefined zoom level - plus there is the third highlight mode for mouse-over events.

[Example: custom markers and annotations for properties in Toorak, VIC]

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Postcodes are the most widely recognised spatial unit. They have application in a variety of operational, analytical and planning activities and are used equally frequently by small as well as large business in Australia.

The most practical to use version of postcodes are Postal Areas created by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Postal Areas allow matching company data to vast amount of statistical data, including socio-demographic information from Census.

Now we bring to the market a set of reference wall maps in pdf format which are ready for printing, either in small size or in pieces on a local printer, or in big format at commercial establishments.The maps are designed on A2 canvas but can be effectively printed in A3 as well as A0 size.

We have available for immediate delivery postcode maps in pdf format for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane/ Gold Coast for as little as $30.

[closeup of Sydney map of postal areas with suburbs]

As with all our products, these maps can be customised to meet specific requirements. For further information or to purchase the set, please email us on info@aus-emaps.com

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About All Things Spatial Blog

This blog started as a personal journal of an individual passionate about maps, spatial analysis and related technologies. All Things Spatial is now a title in a wider network of associated online media assets.